Must Be Sound, Must Be True
by Mel like Mellow
Summary: Bulma/Goku. "I want to make a promise, too." Goku and Buma just hanging out by the riverside. Set during the beginning of the three years before the Androids.


**Must Be Sound, Must Be True**

The sun was fading low on the horizon as dusk began its descent. The summer days were growing shorter as the Earth spun on in that way it always had, yet another reminder of how seemingly unphased the universe seemed to the terrible fate that would someday soon befall those of the blue planet.

Bulma heaved a heavy breath as she wandered amid the brush through the woods, pondering upon this paradoxical peace they had fallen into since they had heard about the terrible androids.

Terrified to the bone initially, Bulma had been infuriated that no one wanted to beat them to the chase and strike first as she had suggested. But that panic had long-since fettered out of her, replaced instead by an eerie sort of calmness. She chalked it up to perhaps everyone's confidence and gung-ho-ness about the approaching battle. Not to mention that she had more than enough to worry about when it came to her unfaithful boyfriend, clueless parents, and her abrasive houseguest.

When she heard the soft trickle of water, she paused, her hand pressed against the trunk of a nearby tree as she listened to the sweet sound. There was the river nearby; that's where Gohan said she should look, right?

She crept forward silently, her lips pressed into a neat line as she waved aside tall weeds and flowering plants. As she reached the clearing ahead, the light and airy smell of fresh water danced around her, resurfacing memories long since forgotten: quests, heroics, and life-and-death situations that now seemed laughable.

A smile did begin to slide up her mouth as she finally saw his massive outline there by the bank, hued in orange and blue, with the fading light serving as a fleeting halo about his spiky crown.

Bulma sighed quietly to herself, taking full advantage of such a rare opportunity to simply observe. His bulky figure seemed to simultaneously contrast and blend so well with the surroundings. Out of place and yet somehow as naturally a part of it as the rocks in the river or lush greenery branching around her. It's not as though he was suitable in any other location, however; civilization had never been a good fit. All of him seemed so entirely surreal. She wondered sometimes if she had dreamt him up.

"Bulma-chan!" He hollered over his shoulder suddenly, startling her. He twisted at the waist, flashing her an amused grin. "What'cha doin' all the way out here?"

The sight of his smile quelled her racing heartbeat. "You shouldn't yell like that, Son-kun," she chastised him and pushed through the last line of high grass. "You might scare someone!"

"What, like you?" Goku teased as she jutted out her tongue, and he patted the ground beside him. "I didn't know you were comin' over! How'd you make it all the way out here, anyways?"

"How quickly they forget!" Bulma scoffed, lowering herself to the spot indicated by his palm. "I've been to Namek and back, Son-kun," she began proudly and puffed herself up. "I think I can navigate the woods of Mt. Paozu pretty good on my own!"

Goku whistled through his teeth and laughed from his belly, shaking his head at her arrogance. "Okay, okay, Bulma-chan … just wanna say, be careful – Gohan likes to lead stray dragons and big cats back home. Chi Chi goes awful crazy when he does that," he muttered as almost an afterthought, looking momentarily sour about it.

"I think I'd be more apt to fear Chi Chi before I worried about Gohan-chan's pets," Bulma giggled and recieved an obliging snicker from her companion.

The conversation settled and Bulma glanced down toward the river, finding Goku's legs stuck in the rapidly moving water. He had his orange pant legs rolled up to his knees and his bare feet swung boldly through the current. She glanced up and saw his curled smile, his raised eyebrows. "The water's nice – you should try it!" He encouraged, acknowledging her staring and giving a splash with his foot for good measure.

A quick bob of her head in assent, and Bulma reached to untie her sneakers and remove them and her nice, white socks. Kicking them off, she tentatively dipped her toe down below the bank's edge, shuddering at the chilly rush from the water. "It's cold, you liar!" She crowed and bumped him with her shoulder, earning a snort from him. Nevertheless, she sank both feet under the surface of the water and exhaled sharply at the slight prickle at her feet and ankles.

"So," Bulma started loudly, startling Goku this time, "this is what the world's greatest hero does all day? Hang out by the river and play in the water?"

He gave a self-deprecating sort of chuckle and bowed his head, and Bulma noticed the small trace of a blush at his cheeks. "Not all the time," he offered and sighed, tilting his head back to gaze up at the dimming sky. "Usually, I'm trainin' with Gohan and Piccolo. But sometimes—"

"You gotta get away?" She finished for him, noting his awkwardly furrowed brow. He lit up at her conclusion and nodded once. "I understand that," she breathed out with a minute tilt of her head as she examined the shimmering, pale reflection in the water that was looking back up at her. "Sometimes it's nice to get away."

"That why you're here?" He queried at once, his black eyebrows darting toward his messy bangs. "Getting away? From what?"

His questions came rapid fire, each with equal interest, and Bulma couldn't stop herself from laughing at this childishness. "Oh, Son-kun," she chuckled and smirked up at him, her hand reaching back to push a stray blue curl behind her ear. "Is it really so curious that I'm here?"

"We don't visit often, eh?" Goku laughed quietly and glanced away. She thought he looked ashamed for a moment. "I'm sorry 'bout that."

"Oh, don't be," she patted his arm vaguely and watched as he fell back into the earth with a gentle exhale. He seemed preoccupied with the twinkling stars beginning to emerge from the bluing sky, and she admired the twisting of his features as he analyzed. "Sometimes," Bulma began and looked toward her pink kneecaps, "I do get kind of crazy, after being cooped up at home. What with my parents, and Yamucha, and Vegeta."

Goku smirked to himself at the decibel she chose for the Saiyajin no Ouji's name. Bulma missed it entirely. "Not getting along?"

"Yamucha's a big … fat head!" She growled and grit her teeth together. "As far as I'm concerned, he and I are actually, totally, and finally _done_." And although she used that similar tone which she had always used when discussing her relationship's end with Yamucha, somehow it felt true to both of them. Unbeknownst to Bulma, Goku had an inkling as to why.

"It's just not worth all that any more," she finished with a slightly more somber note to her voice.

"Maybe he's not good for you," Goku nudged her in the small of her back with his forefinger, eliciting a loud giggle from her as she squirmed away from his touch.

Bulma turned to look back at his recumbent figure, a half-smirk writ across her features. "Oh yeah? You think so?" Snickering, she lowered herself to recline beside Goku, her head turning to look up at him from around a dainty flower and blades of grass. "So, who then do you think is good for me, Son-kun? Since you know so much about romance."

The Saiyajin blushed and moved his face from her, returning to examine the sky open overhead. "I dunno," he fibbed and shrugged, clearly put at unease by her teasing. "Maybe you just ain't met him yet, really."

"Maybe," she groaned and followed his gaze upwards. "Maybe he's out there," Bulma pointed toward the sky with a mocking laugh. "Wouldn't it figure that my real prince is somewhere out there and not down here?"

Goku swallowed upon her word choice, chortling a little too loudly. "Or, you know," he began to venture, "Maybe he's right under your nose, Bulma-chan."

A grunt sounded by his shoulder. "Under my nose? If you're suggesting Kurririn, I might just leave you here in the woods, Son-kun." She sniffed reproachfully and shot him a disappointed glower. "That's just not nice."

They glanced at one another, locking gazes, and held both before dissolving into loud, untamed laughter. Bulma held her stomach as she shook with her mirth, feeling her friend shift just as violently beside her, their amusement echoing about the otherwise silent grove. As it died, they sighed in tandem, both smiling widely into the night.

Slowly, Bulma tilted her face toward the man, her smile wilting just so. She could see the laughlines receding from the corners of his eyes and mouth, the only real signs of age to grace his otherwise youthful features. Bulma silently cursed his genetics. Truly, though, it seemed so odd how far they'd come, and how far they still had left to go, and here they were, lying in the grass and laughing like they were still teenagers.

Without forethought, she lifted her palm to his chest as he began to roll over on his side to face her. She met his surprised eyes, feeling a sadness well up in her that she had not quite felt before. "It's gonna be okay, right, Son-kun?" She blurted suddenly, seeking out the answer in his pupils before she had even posed the question, knowing she must look like the epitome of hopeful wishing. "I mean, when all this is over … we're gonna still be able to do this?"

"What's that, Bulma-chan?" He wondered so innocently that she momentarily forgot that he was the savior of this world. Of her world.

"Laugh?" Bulma gasped at the thrill of terror that ran up her spine and sprung forth into her eyes. She choked on the clog of tears that were working into the surface and she ducked her head from his inquisitive staring. "Gomen nasai, Son-kun," she sniveled and murmured toward her chest.

She listened to the rustle of grass and felt him bridge the gap between them, his hands falling over her shoulder and closing across her own at his chest. He felt warm across from her, and more solid than the ground on which they rested. Bulma looked up and found his sobered face nearer to hers than it had been in years – likely closer than propriety permitted - and she blushed involuntarily at the proximity. "Son-kun, what's—"

"I want you to listen to me, Bulma-chan," he told her softly, seriousness she could barely recognize filtered into his voice. "Because this is really important, okay?"

He waited until she nodded mutely before he inhaled surely and continued.

"It's gonna be scary," he admitted, biting the corner of his lip. "And I don't know how it's all gonna happen. It's real hard to tell." Goku grimaced at her sniffling and squeezed at her shoulder in what could only be consolation as she began to dip her head away from him again. "But, hey, if I can promise you something, it's that you will definitely laugh after all this, Bulma-chan."

Bulma stared up at him with watery eyes, his face misty and hazy around the edges as she contemplated his vow and his stern browline. That wasn't what she had wanted to hear. She hated thinking it, but she had come out here, all the way into the heart of the woods on this high mountain in the early evening, seeking out her oldest friend to assure her of something she completely doubted – and clearly he did, too. What she really had wanted to hear was that they'd all be safe, that everyone would be happy, that it wouldn't just be her laughing when it was finished.

But she knew what was possible and what was reality, and so she nodded, breaking her frown up into a half-hearted smile. For her compliance, Bulma was rewarded with a crooked smile she took solace in. Goku sat up and stood, dragging her up with him by her petite hands. She stumbled a bit and he caught her by the elbows, giggling at her lack of balance. Bulma scowled playfully and shoved at him.

"C'mon, we'll see if Chi Chi's done with dinner yet," he clapped her firmly on the shoulder and gestured for Bulma to begin ahead of him. "I'm reeeeaaaaal hungry, Bulma-chan!"

With a tiny laugh, she nodded and began to turn for the woods again, but she hesitated after a step. Before he could inquire as to her pause, Bulma pivoted and stole forward into his chest, rocking the man backward slightly in her haste. Her arms wove around his thick shoulders and neck, barely able to make it entirely around him. It was only a moment before she felt his large arms cradle her waist and tug her toward him, reciprocating her firm embrace, and she smiled against his shoulder.

"I want to make a promise, too," she muttered, giving a little squeeze of her arms around him. "And my promise is that after all this, we'll_ all_ be laughing." Bulma drew back and looked up at him with all the confidence she could muster, fisting her hands at the height of his back. "I won't settle for anything else, Son-kun. So…"

She tapered off, her assurance waning slightly at his apparent uncertainty. It was a stretch to swear something like that – she had no illusions about that. But admitting anything less caused something to flare painfully inside her chest.

Bulma rallied and straightened her back, tipping her chin up at him. "So, y'know, obviously _my _promise is better and we both should make _that_ _one_ happen. Okay?"

He guffawed at her resolution, his head falling back as he laughed toward the sky. With a sly look, she reached up and pinched his shoulder blade, causing him to draw back affronted. "What was that for?" Goku cried petulantly, his amusement fading fast as he rubbed at the offended area pinkening at his collar.

"You were laughing at me! This is a very important promise, Son-kun!" She scolded him and bent for her sneakers and socks by the bank. "And you better not let me down, because—"

Abruptly, Bulma leapt away and shrieked, her arms winding around her midsection protectively as she turned to face him. She was scandalized and red-faced as she caught him wiggling his fingers at her and laughing boisterously, obviously the culprit of her spook. "SON-KUN! Don't you ever do that again! How inappropriate, especially when we're all the way out here!"

"Awe, c'mon, Bulma-chan," he tried to placate her under his laughter, waving a hand toward her. "There's nothing out here---"

"You said there's dangerous stuff out here all the time!" She whined and looked unsurely at the ground around her feet, her head whipping around to inspect more thoroughly the clearing. "Son-kun, gimme a lift," she ordered and stretched her arms out toward the Saiyajin, his face falling at her childlike antics.

"Hontou ni?" Goku marveled with an arched eyebrow.

Bulma huffed and tapped her foot against the ground, matching his stare with a flat look of her own, arms still outstretched. A beat passed before he finally he gave in to her unforgiving expression. He moved forward and swept her up around her stomach, tucking her securely under his arm. Goku smirked at her sudden loss of breath and the foul glare she shot him then.

"That is NOT how—"

Her reprimand was cut short as Goku purposely jostled her and lifted two fingers to his forehead. Charmingly, he winked down at her furious face. "Hold on tight now, Bulma-chan! I'm just startin' to practice with people, and I don't wanna lose you somewhere along the way, eh?"

As her mouth fell open to argue, the world began to dissolve before her very eyes. Bulma sucked in a sharp breath at the sudden tugging behind her navel, and she thought she cried out his name, but she heard nothing but the wind.

All at once, both had vanished from the riverside, leaving nature to its tranquil solitude.

* * *

**Author's Note: **I am so in love with their friendship lately. Seriously, there should be more Goku/Bulma BFF fics. They're just so great. :D Anyway, I just thought of this the other day and had to put it down. At this rate, I might just compile a bunch of stories about Bulma interacting with various members of the Son household. That might be fun!

Anyway, hope you guys liked this piece. I'm kind of new at writing Goku, so ... hopefully he was in character here!


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